It's a gorgeous day here, friends, but I can't help feeling a little blue. There are a whole host of reasons why, but well, in the words of Robert Plant in one of my favorite songs, "Upon us all a little rain must fall." So I'm going to buck up, get some work done, and then cook and bake to my heart's content. Here's to a "rainy" day.

Some really lovely things from the new to me online only store, L'Aviva Home. I love, love, love the white Moroccan Wedding blankets and the Indigo throws. What a gorgeous collection of things--perfect for birthday or wedding presents.

These are two of my very favorite pictures from Peru. They were taken in the old Inca village of Ollantaytambo. We had a beautiful few days here, staying at a little hotel right on a river, and fell asleep to a roaring Urubamba River every night.

I was born with a kind of wanderlust that no matter how hard I try gosh darn it, will not be talked into submission. My latest obsession is coastline of Uruguay. And setting up a hotel/boutique. And then I remembered these pictures from The World of Interiors a few years back (Feb 09, I think). This is the residence of the celebrated Argentine chef, Francis Mallman, in Garzon, Uruguay. Pretty much perfect, don't you think?

I've been working on this box, "Paradise Found/Paradise Lost," for my book arts class for a while. It's a memorial box (kind of like a hardcover book but with a box inside of its cover) to a time and place that I can't go back to. I made the collage of mountains, then built a box around it, framed it with sanded down plexiglass, and then built a case for it. I use the metaphor of finding and losing "Shangri-La" to illustrate the concept of finding and then losing Paradise. It's been fun to work on, and I'm super happy with the result, but man, oh man am I happy to be d-o-n-e! (sorry for the crummy pictures--it's hard for me to take pictures of my artwork for some reason--but you can click on the photo to zoom in and read!)

The Incas were a truly remarkable civilization whose influence is very much alive in the modern day Peru, especially around Cusco. Their work with stones, in particular, is incredible! They built massive structures that have withstood a few hundreds of years of earthquakes--all by fitting the stones exactly to each other without any kind of mortar. The stones are pretty amazing to see, not to mention run your hands over!

Have a wonderful weekend everybody! And a good Easter if you celebrate it. A few more pictures to share next week. xo

hello! bonjour. hola. bom dia.

My name is Honora, and I am writer and grad student in San Francisco, CA. I love British mysteries, the word vermillion, sitting in the sun after a nice swim, and logging time in international airport terminals (and the countries that they take me to). Thanks for visiting!

Feel free to leave comments on posts, or to get in touch by e-mail: byitsowndesign@gmail.com.

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